Bernotas Students Top Finishers In Stock Market Competition

CRYSTAL LAKE-CARY, IL - From Crystal Lake District 47: After picking stocks that propelled them to the front of the class, Bernotas eighth graders Nico Acevedo and Jake Braasch took first place in the Northwest Suburban division of The Stock Market Game™ (SMG), an online portfolio simulation competition. The duo competed against 234 other student teams and finished first in the Grades 4-8 division. They also finished fourth out of 2,359 teams and 13,000 students in grades 4-12 across the state.

Acevedo and Braasch played SMG in Mrs. Strebel’s language arts class, where students researched stocks to follow, monitored them daily on the NYSE, and made virtual trades through the SMG website. Strebel’s class also finished first in the Grades 4-8 classroom division of the Northwest Suburban challenge.

SMG is used in thousands of classrooms nationwide to help teach core academic subjects while emphasizing the importance of long-term saving and investing. Students work together in teams to conduct research, invest their hypothetical $100,000 cash account, and manage their portfolio over time. Teachers use the SMG program’s online educational resource library as a tool to enhance student engagement with math, language arts, social studies, business, and technology, while integrating investment concepts into their existing curriculum. The cross-curricular lessons and materials support both Illinois and national Common Core State Standards.

“While the students had fun playing a game, they also learned real-life economic and financial skills that will benefit them for years to come,” said Strebel, whose husband is a high school government teacher. “Not only did Jake and Nico outperform many students their own age in the SMG, they outperformed the students in my husband’s high school economics class!”

Braasch and Acevedo were recognized with medals and award certificates as the winning team after increasing their original $100,000 cash to a final portfolio equity of $120,898.36 and outperforming the S&P 500 for the same period by 12.89 percent.

“I didn’t know much about this before, but I think it’s cool that I now know how to make trades,” said Braasch.

“I’m thinking that if I can be successful doing this, I can probably be successful trading in the real world,” said Acevedo.

Photo courtesy of Crystal Lake District 47